Candy Episode 1 by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
Have you seen the new trilogy of short films for Prada’s Candy L’Eau fragrance? Chances are that as they were made by indie auteur extraordinaire Wes Anderson and his regular partner in 35mm Roman Coppola (and also as they were released last month) that you have. So instead of highlighting how much we love Anderson’s dry humour dialogue (‘Qu’est-ce que c’est banana split en francais?’ ‘Banana split.’), fantastic use of 60s music (Jacques Dutronc in this), that signature studio design and pan whip camera movements, we thought we’d concentrate on what we know best, the hair.
There is a particular type of Parisian hairstyle featured on the good looking heads of the two male leads starring alongside Mademoiselle Lea Seydoux. It has been the main style for a certain type of very Parisian Paris boy for the best part of this century. Born and bred in the affluent central arrondissements with boho parents they study lettres at the Sorbonne. They love The Rolling Stones but unlike the hundreds of thousands of their compatriots they would never move to London. For why would they ever leave Paris? They exist in a cinematic ideal of the City of Lights. This description may lead some to believe that this hairstyle is the French version of an English public school floppy fringe but this would be to mis-sell it. It emphasises a gallic creativity and romance that the floppy fringe does not. It is an oxymoron of a haircut. Carefully crafted to demonstrate a laissez-faire attitude. Worn, as in the film, with the best tailoring. In this respect it is more closely related to the well-groomed beard. Perhaps one would now describe it as the Louis Garrell hairstyle, made famous by the wavy locks of the poster boy of French indie cinema.
Candy Episode 2
Candy Episode 3
Monsieur Louis Garrel
The Candy L’Eau shorts are not too dissimilar from Anderson and Coppola’s other commercial work for Stella Artois. Whether it’s fragrance or beer, it seems that a quirky French film parody is the magic ingredient:
And while we’re on the commercial work of Mr Anderson, here’s the American Express advert he did a few years back starring another of his cinematic cohorts, former MurdockMan Hairstyle Icon and Mr Coppola’s cousin, Jason Schwartzman: